She’s won this round, but it's not yet time for the Jiba jive

Nomgcobo Jiba’s lawyer says the former prosecutions head has been “vindicated” by the Appeal Court’s rejection of a ruling that she was “unfit” to practise.

But while the National Prosecuting Authority has stated that there is “no legal barrier” stopping Jiba from returning to work, the advocate faces another major legal hurdle before she’s in the clear: a court ruling that compels the president to take disciplinary action against her.

In 2017, the North Gauteng High Court ordered former president Jacob Zuma to “institute disciplinary inquiries against Jiba and [special director of public prosecutions Lawrence] Mrwebi into their fitness to hold office in the National Prosecuting Authority and to suspend them pending the outcome of those inquiries”.

But, crucially, it suspended that order pending the outcome of the party’s ultimate appeal of General Council of the Bar (GCB) judgment.

On Tuesday, Jiba and Mrwebi successfully challenged that GCB judgment by North Gauteng High Court Judge Frans Legodi, who had found that – based on Jiba’s handling of the case against former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli – she was unfit to practise as an advocate.